Governor for internal-combustion engines



May 22, 1923. i Q 7 1,456,284

P. F. SHIVERS ET AL GOVERNOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed NOV.12, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS.

FMZ siu'rera Jam flimzsc 9M MMQ ATTORNEY May 22, 1923.

,P. F. SHIVERS ET AL GOVERNOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES 1919 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12,

amuziulig INVENTORS Pauli: Shivem IDWL 70A Li w zlevj ATTORNEY PatentedMay 22, 1923.

' UNITED STATES. PATENT orrlce.

mm. r. snivnas, or LUDINGTON, filament, AND JOHN F. nmnnnnaoi.ofiroae'o,

ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOBS OF ONE-HALF TO LEDDBA. W. HOLT,

man.

or Lonmeron, 111cm oovmmoa roa m'rnannn-counosrron"aromas.

Application filed November 12, 1919. Serial No. 337,579.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL F. SHIVERS, residing at Ludington, inthecounty of Mason and State of Michigan, and JOHN F. LINDBERG, residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, citizens of theUnited States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGovernors for Internal-Combustion Engines; and we do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to governors for internal-combustion engines andhas for its main object to provide means whereb starting of the engineis easily andquic y accomplished and whereby racing of the engine due tosudden load reduction or fail- 'ure of anyelement entering into thespeed government of the engine Wlll effect reduction in speed thereof.

The invention is so-called electric lig ting and power plants of thetype adapted for isolated locations, such as farms, small towns, hotels,resort cottages and vehicles, and which are actuated by internalcombustion engines and more particularly to that type of plant known asautomatic or self-starting upon closure ofthe electric circuit throughany of the translating devices interposed therein.

A further object of the invention in its 36 adaptation to suchgenerating plants 18 to provide an automatic governor or control whichwill efiect slowing down of the eng ne to prevent injury to .theelectric generating elements and circuits or the translating devicesinterposed therein in the event of any accident such as the opening ofthe circuit controlling the governor or failure thereof for othercauses, the breakin 01 failure of the spring associated with t egovernor or control, or a sudden decrease in load on the en 'ne orgenerator.

e invention consists in the combination o association of parts orelements hereinafter fully described and claimed. A suitable orexemplary embodiment whereof is illustrated in the accompanying drawingsin which: I Figure 1 is a view in elevation, partly in particularlyadapted to section, of an electric control or governor of the characterand purpose set forth.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1. Figure 3 is a longitudinal section, partly in section of thecarburetor, Fig. 4 is a modification illustrating the adaptation of aball type of governor, andFig. 5 a View of a hydrocarbon engine andgenerator and solenoid of the governor illustrating in conventlonal formthe relation of the solenoid-to the circuit of the generator.

.The device comprises the carburetor 1 which, in the instanceillustrated, consists of a tube or air passageway 2 into which thehydro-carbon feed nozzle 3 projects. The nozzle is adapted to beconnected by means of the pipe 4 with the source of a supply ofhydro-carbon, and the supply of the hydrocarbon is controlled by aneedle valve 5 in the usual manner. A shaft 6 carries the throttle valve7 which isshown substantially closing leads from the nozzle to theinterior 0 the air passageway between the throttle valve 7 and thedischarge or engine intake end of the air passageway. Mounted at one endof the shaft 6 is a spur pinion 9 which projects into the housing 10 ofthe reciprocable lunger 11 constituting the armature of the solenoid 12.Said plunger 11 is equipped between its ends with a rack 13 meshing withthe spur pinion 9 for rotatin the same in an obvious manner. The p ungeror armature 11 is normally supported at the upper or outer limit of itsmovement with respect to adjustable tension spring 14, depending uponwhether the device is vertically or horizontally disposed.

Any of the many types and constructions of carburetors for internalcombustion engines. purchasable on the market may be substituted for theone shown and described, it being essential only that the carburetoremployed shall be equipped with a full 'et located between the .throttleor choke-valve and the engine for reasons hereinafter fully explained.

The solenoid 12 is properly connected in the circuit of the generator sothat as current is generated by the latter the solenoid will beenergized and will cause the armathe solenoid 12 by means of the the airpassageway. A passa e 8 upper limit of its movement the throttle valveis closed or substantially closed' as shown in Figure 1, so that only avery limited air intake opening is presented, so that upon starting theinternal combustion engine for driving the generatorv a relativelyrich-starting mixture of carbureted air will be introduced into theengine to' start the same. As is well known in automobile practice andwherever internal combustion engines are employed, the latter are morequickly and readily started by the introduction of a relatively richcarbureted air initially. As soon as the engine is started the generatoractuated thereby will deliver current to the solenoid 12 whereupon thelatte will draw down the plunger or armature 11 a distance dependingupon the current value generated and the choke valve will be movedtoward open position thus enlarging the air intake and causing anincrease in engine speed and a proportionate increase in current untilthe current enerated attains its predetermined voltage. if the load onthe generator is at this time its maximum, then the choke valve willretain its approximately maximum opening but as the current consumptiondecreases due to turning out lights or shutting off other translatingmeans interposed in the generator circuit the load on the engine willdecrease without, however, decreasing the voltage of the generatedcurrent. This will '0 viously result in an increase in engine speed anda consequent increase in-voltage.

of the generated current thus causing the armature 11 to be moved stillfarther against the action of the spring 14 thus causing the choke valveof the carburetor to turn beyond the wide open position and effecting apartial choking of the air intake and a decrease in engine speedsubstantially of such intake. The winding of the solenoid and thetension of the spring 14 aresuch that if the maximum voltage to begenerated is, for example, 110 and it should rise to 115, the armature11 will respond to such extent as to move the choke valve to asubstantially closed position to prevent all possibility of continuationof engine speed or increase thereof to effect generation of current toexceed a safe limit of 115 volts.

If, for example, the spring 14 should I break or be too weak to offerthe requisite resistance to the movement of the armature 1n response tocurrent increases, the result would be that the englne would neverattain the desired maximum speed, and in the event that the supply ofcurrent to the solenoid should, for any reason, such as a short circuitor the breaking or loosening of a feed wire to same, the spring 14 wouldeither rebe exhausted by an excessive duration of the crankingoperation, to the end that the life of thestorage battery may beincreased as far as possible and, further, sot-hat the normal desiredcurrent value may be generated as soon as possible after closing thecircuit throu h a translating device, it 1s, of course,

desira is that starting of the en inc and generation of power should bea 0st instantaneous and this is best accomplished by almost completelychoking the air intake to the carburetor initially .to insure the feedof rich carbureted air to the engine. This advantage of the device issup lemented b the other advantages hereinbeibre set fort thus makingthe device not onl geous with respect-to its several and the manner inwhich they are performed but also with respect to the simplicitya'ndcheapness of its construction.

It will be a parent, of course, that the device is equal y applicable toelectric light and power plants of the several types on the marketregardless of the voltage of the current generated.

Our said device isparticularly adapted for such plants as are, forexample, illustrated and described in the a plication for Letters Patentof Scott J. atthews, filed March 7th, 1917, Serial No, 153,015, and inLetters Patent to L. B. Jones, No. 1,081,749, dated December 16th, 1913;F. M. Slough, No. 1,192,006, dated July 25th, 1916; and many others; infact wherever the rime mover is started by a battery actuate moto'r ormotor generator or by means of a pneumatic motor fed from a limited suply of compressed air as in the atent to D. 1K9Iil2g-ht et al., N 0.1,028,364 ated June 4th,

The essential and most important and advantageous feature of theinvention resides in the employement of a carburetor having a throttleor choke-valve disposed in the above described relation to the fuelnozzle advantaand engine and so associated with means functions es esother closed position in response to increase in engine speed thusadapting it to any very simple type of governor whether electrical or-mechanical, the electrical type shown and described being veryadvantaeous in some particulars, and, therefore preferable. The initialor normal position of the choke or throttle-valve insures quick startingof the engine and afi'ords the most advantageous and economical means ofpreventing racing of the engine under the several specific conditions,or their equivalents, above set forth.

In 'Figure 4:, we have 'shown a simple mechanical governor of the balltype in which sleeve 15 will be suitably connected to the engine to berotated thereby. Balls 17 are suitably connected to the sleeve and torod 16 suitably connected to 'rack rod 18 which meshes with pinion 19 onshaft 20, the pinion and shaft being identical with pinion 9 and shaft6. As the speed of the engine increases for any reason, the balls willtravel outwardly in the usual manner causing rod 16 to descend in sleeve15 and move the rackrod u wardly to move the valve as before descri ed.

Thus it will be understood that while we have shown and described anexemplary and preferred embodiment of the invention herein,-the same maybe otherwise embodied to adapt it to the characteristics of all types ofgenerating sets or plants of the character aforesaid or any type ofinternal combustion engine without departing from the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

What we claim is: h p 1. A governor for internal combustion en'-gine-driven electric generating plants comprising a carburetor adaptedto be connected to the engine and having an air passageway therein, avalve within the air passageway adapted to be turned continuously in onedirection from substantially closed position to wide open position andagain to substantially closed position, means normally maintaining thevalve in substantially closed position and means to turn the valve inthe aforesaid direction, the latter means being responsive to thevoltage of the electric current generated by the generator.

2. A overnor for internal combustion engins-driven electric generatingplants comprising a carburetor adapted to be connected to the engine andhaving an air passageway therein, a valve within the air passagewayadapted to be turned continuously in one direction from substantiallyclosed position to wide open position and again to substantially closedposition, the carburetor having a fuel jet communicating with said airpassageway between said valve and the engine, and means to turn thevalve in the aforesaid direction, said means being responsive to thevoltage of the current generated byithe electric generating means.

3. A governor for internal combustion engine-driven electric generatingplants comprising a carburetor adapted to be connected to the engine andhaving an air passageway therein, avalve within the air passagewayadapted to be turned continuously in one direction from substantiallyclosed position to wide open position and again to substantially closedposition, the carburetor having a fuel jet communicating with said airpassageway between said valve and the engine, a rack carrying plungeradapted to turn the valve in the aforesaid direction, voltage responsivemeans connected in the circuit of the electric generating means formoving the. plunger in one direction and means to move the plunger inthe opposite direction for normally maintaining the valve insubstantially closed position.

in witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names this 4th day ofNovember,

PAUL F. SHIVERS, JOHN F. LINDBERG.

